Religion creates a bad government; big or small it will be horrible and oppressive. Having religion, broadly or not is oppressive. You should not have "under God" or "In God we trust" in money, in the pledge or on money. It's a one way step to a controversy. If we had "Under no god" in money, the pledge and on money theists would be throwing a giant fit. Don't tell me that it's your right to have god on your money and crap. I am a secularist; I believe religion has no right to be government or forced into a society at all. Remove under god and don't put anything there. It was not always there, it was only there in 1956-present. Religion does nothing but create problems when it's involved in the government so just keep it the f out.

I usually write entire essays (just read my response for example) but I think this is really all that needs to be said. Yes, atheists do have a right to be upset. Religion should not be enforced on people. It's unconstitutional, it's undermining, and without a great deal of evidence for something so absurd, it shouldn't be something that's treated as if it has more validity.

Yeah, They Really Do

My reasoning is pretty well summed up by the rest of the yes voters. As long as the Government is separate from the Church and the U.S. has no official religion, there is no need or justification for the "Under God" line in the Pledge of Allegiance. Graduation speeches are personal to the graduate however. I think it is completely acceptable there.

Yeah, They Really Do

My reasoning is pretty well summed up by the rest of the yes voters. As long as the Government is separate from the Church and the U.S. has no official religion, there is no need or justification for the "Under God" line in the Pledge of Allegiance. Graduation speeches are personal to the graduate however. I think it is completely acceptable there.

The Phrase "Under God" May Technically Be Illegal

Children are impressionable. It is in their nature to be, so when they become adjusted to a state-sanctioned authorization of the usage of the term "God" (which, in itself, is sketchy), they are going to assume this God they speak of is a reality. It's a form of indoctrination. Furthermore, the phrase "Under God" did not exist in the Pledge of Allegiance until the mid-1950's, so it's not like we're discussing a traditional aspect of American culture, as some would argue. Atheists are upset because the inclusion of "Under God" may be a violation of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, since public schools are a government enterprise. It is also looked at as indoctrination of youth, which could be argued as a violation of ethics.

Now, I will admit that there are atheists who take it WAY too far, much like Fundamentalist Christians do. When it comes to things like graduation speeches, for example, if the person making the speech is religious, then he/she has every right to acknowledge God. It doesn't bother me, or any other atheist I know, at all.

I Hate Pulling The Victim Card.

I hate pulling the victim card, but it is true. Atheists are extremely prejudiced against EVERYWHERE. We don't have it good in not just the U.S. Mostly it is valid complaints. We have little to no representation in the government, and we are surrounded and deeply opposed by horrible odds, the status quo if you want to know the magnitude, basically.

Of Course they Have the Right.

Well, I am a Christian, and I believe they should not be offended by this. I agree with SandmanTF131 in saying that they shouldn't be offended by a God they don't care about anyways. However, of course they have the right to be offended! As citizens of a country who's constitution's first amendment is freedom of speech, we have the right to get offended whenever we want, as long as we don't react by breaking the law.

Not just atheists, but everyone should be upset.

It's silly to make the title of this only specify atheism, when pretty much *everyone* who doesn't believe or follow the word of God is affected. The pledge of allegiance, and other similar things are meant to give the people something to be proud about, and the fact that it doesn't actually include something for everyone, or a more general pledge for PEOPLE instead of just people who believe in God, makes it hard to be patriotic, makes it seem that your country doesn't really give a damn about you if you don't believe in God, and honestly, it feels that way *a lot*.

A national anthem or pledge should not be biased.

It is completely against the theme of the pledge of allegiance and other ceremonies to discriminate against another person's belief. It is offensive not only to atheist but to Hindu's, to Buddhist, to Taoist, and generally anyone not of the Christian God. Atheist are included by default since they are not of the Christian faith.

Dissociate public issues and speeches from religion

Just like one religion does not have right to impose their religious beliefs on people of other religion, no religion has right to impose its god-centric views on people who have different views on god. This stems from the basic concept of equality of all. I am sure religious people will not appreciate it if the pledge of allegiance went out its way to refute god.

I suppose atheists have a right to be upset about anything and everything they want to be upset about. Its their life after all. Is there any actual harm done by the pledge? Is there temper tantrum the greater threat, forcing people to deal with an irrational anger? Probably. As we see in the forum, when asked, which religion does "God" favor, we cannot get a straight answer. One Nation under Catholicism would be wrong. It FAVORS one religion.

So I suppose atheists can get their little panties in a bunch all they want, but if they want to do anything other than bleet like angry sheep, then they are going to have to actually demonstrate harm and why being thin skinned to the extreme is ... Everyone else's problem. In an age of real economic concerns, raging wars around the globe at the behest of non-State actors, narcotics distribution and crime, too big to fail but rapacious financial institutions, unlimited campaign finance corrupting the system ... etc. listing to hyperbolic nonsense about the 'anger' of having to listen to some say the word God?

Atheists, by definition, do not believe in a God. Yet all through the news, you hear stories of people trying to get "one nation under God" taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance. If they believe God is a mythical figure, then why would they care? From their standpoint, God is equivalent to a Unicorn, or the Tooth Fairy. If you don't even believe God is real, how could he offend you? Who is more irrational: the guy who believes in a God he doesn't see, or a guy who gets offended by a God he doesn't believe in?

The needs of many should outweigh the needs of one.

I'm not saying that Atheists should be expected to practice religion, or pray, etc. They have a right to not believe. But Believers also have rights. Those rights are frequently trampled on, by the complaints of Non-Believers. We select leaders by majority rules. Yet, the vast majority (who are Believers) have their religious freedom suppressed. That isn't fair, either. There has to be a happy medium, where Believers & Atheists can co-exist with mutual respect & civility.

They have no rational basis to be upset

The fact that atheist whine at the sight of religion in the public is extremely childish on their part. They fact that they are constantly in courts wasting time and other resources warring over removing or preventing religion from the public setting only shows that they are prejudiced toward religion.

Atheist should first realize that they are the minority in a world where most people are religious and don't mind religion in the public. I mean most religious people don't even mind religious artifacts (or practices) from another religion in the public.

Nope. They should just man up.

I'm not so much an atheist as someone who couldn't care less about all of this. If you don't like that the pledge says 'one nation under god', just don't stand for it. If you don't believe in a god, it does not give you the right to remove someone else's ability to express their belief. It's about time we all grew up, removed out panties from our asses, and accepted people can express their religion or lack of religion freely. I'll be here enjoying life without the religion debates.

I believe Atheists should just let go of it

I am an atheist as well, but I believe to be upset over little things like these is just a waste of time and energy. Why be upset? Many people still believe in God, give thanks to God and ask God for right of way. Now, again, I am an atheist as well but I think you have to accept others beliefs and not be offended by them just as religious people shouldn't be offended by our lack of belief.

Well, I have to ask ... Do Believers have any right to be upset when they have God stripped from activities & ceremonies that are important to them? If we look at those involved, Believers (as a whole) would consistently outnumber non-believers. The statistics, within our society, estimates that only 1.6% are Atheists. If you add Agnostics, etc., the number rises to 16.1%. Which means the vast majority is comprised of Believers. Yet, this same vast majority is repeatedly being asked to yield to a much smaller group. Does that sound fair? I don't hate Atheists. In America, we practice religious freedom. But, it also seems, we must suppress the religion of many to please a few!

America isn't a society built on the laws of thuggery. The government was designed to represent everyone, not just the majority. Simply because you outnumber me, doesn't mean you get to run the government the way you see fit. Understanding that we live in a republic, and not a pure democracy will help you come to terms with this fact.

You claim to be in favor of religious freedom, yet insist that EVERY OTHER party except yours be forced to concede to your religion. That isn't freedom, that's preference. That's like saying anyone can be president as long as he's conservative. It's nonsense.

Religious preference isn't only wrong, it's potentially dangerous. This is why you'll see intelligent people fighting against it. You've got an advantage you don't want to lose, and the government needs to apply an even playing field. No exceptions, and no matter how Christians may cry foul, it's not legitimate. There is no "suppression" of your religion. Quit being dramatic. No one is saying you can't worship, or practice your beliefs. They're simply saying you can't do it when it's involved with government entities, like public education and the pledge. No one speaks out against graduation speeches, that's sensationalism and lies, praise whoever you want, the instructors and professors who ACTUALLY taught you, or your respective gods.